Talking points
Not much positive to take away from this one from Everett’s point of view. It was a pretty uninspired effort as a winless Portland team seemed to want it more than an Everett team that appeared to let up after finally getting in the win column itself Wednesday night.
Everett was particularly brutal on the power play, going 0-for-9 and rarely creating anything. In truth, Everett’s power play hasn’t looked very good all season long. Yes, the Tips had 11 power-play goals in their first five games. But most of those came from indivdual effort. Everett’s been slow moving the puck, and the Tips are beginning to have all their shots from the point blocked. Not exactly sure why they can’t seem to get the shot past the first defender, but it’s hard to score rebound goals if shots never reach the net.
Of note, after more than a year forward Eric English finally made it off Everett’s taxi squad, making his WHL debut. Also making his WHL debut was defenseman Eddie Friesen. And I spotted Zack Dailey in the arena, seeming to be in good shape after that big hit that sent him to the hospital Wednesday.
Turning point
Punctuating how poor Everett’s power play was, the Tips were trailing 1-0 when Viktor Sjodin redirected Tyler Swystun’s pass into the top corner while short-handed, giving the Winter Hawks a working 2-0 lead that was desperately needed for a team short on confidence.
Hit of the day
Didn’t really see anything in particular that stood out, though in all honesty I didn’t keep very good track of hits tonight.
Three stars
First star: Kurtis Mucha, Portland. Made 31 saves for the shutout. Didn’t face a lot of difficult shots, but made all the saves he had to.
Second star: Tyler Swystun, Portland. Had a beauty goal for Portland’s third and a nice feed for the second.
Third star: Zach Hamill, Everett. Put in some decent effort in the offensive zone, but wasn’t really that effective from a creative standpoint.
The Herald’s honorable mention: Radim Valchar, Portland. Caused Everett problems with his forechecking.
Scratches
For Everett, goaltender David Reekie (mono) and defenseman Jonathan Harty (flu) are sick. Forward Zack Dailey (concussion) is injured. Forwards Tyler Skauge and Tyler Eskesen and defensemen Jeff Regier and Chris de la Lande were healthy scratches.
For Portland, forward Riley Boychuk (hip flexor) and defensemen Brock Cornish (shoulder) and Lee Morrow (shoulder) are injured. Defenseman Devon Marshall was reassigned prior to the game. Forwards Aaron McGill, Matt Sokol and Tristan King and goaltender Mark Guggenberger were healthy scratches.
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